Official UK procurement notice
250285 Contract for the Provision of External Investigator Services
Authority: Queen's University Belfast (Education)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionWith a large and diverse membership of staff and students, it is important for the University to have in place a fair, transparent, accessible and robust process for dealing with complaints and allegations of misconduct. The University also recognises the potential risk to its reputation and considers that, in order to improve the management of this risk and thereby protect the Queen's brand and also being mindful of the University's core values, it would be desirable to engage the services of a firm of investigators to conduct complex or high-risk investigations.
Therefore, the University is seeking to engage a Supplier to undertake investigations into complaints and allegations of misconduct brought by/against students and by/against members of staff. Such complaints or allegations may be complex, sensitive or pose a high risk to the University and may include allegations of sexual misconduct or inappropriate behaviour; allegations of racism, sexism, homophobia; allegations of bullying, harassment, discrimination
- The authority expects to re-tender this requirement around 2 Aug 2030, 00:59 BST.
CPV: Investigation services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedLot #1AwardedRenewalPublished value£266,000
What it takes to wini
How this buyer will score bids.
The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).
Evaluation split and conditions of participation as published; the tender pack may add morei
How this buyer will score bids.
The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).
Published sub-criteria (2)
- Technical: 65%
- Price: 35%
Published award criteria (2)
- Technical: Calibre of Investigators 25% Service Delivery 15% Data Security and Management 10% Reliability of Service 5% Value For Money 5% Responsible Procurement 5%
- Price
- Price carries 35 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 3.5 points. The method statement decides this lot, not the discount.
Price arithmetic assumes straight proportional scoring; the tender pack may use another formula.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Procedure method
- Open procedure
- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Awarded
- Procurement threshold
- Above threshold (FTS publication)
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Yes (GPA, CPTPP)
- Recurring procurement
- Yes · next expected 2 Aug 2030
- First published
- 26 Nov 2025, 17:53 GMT
- Last source update
- 4 Mar 2026, 13:37 GMT
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end – 29 Jan 2026
- Authority reference
250285- FTS notice number
2025/S 000-077445- Latest notice
- Contract details notice (UK7)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-05e9b0Find a Tender
- Risks
Risks that Queen’s considers could either jeopardise the satisfactory performance of the public contract, or may require a subsequent modification to the contract under paragraph 5 of Schedule 8 to the Procurement Act 2023 are detailed within the Specification. The Specification forms part of the associated tender documents, which can be accessed via the link provided within this notice.
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- 22 Dec 2025, 16:00 GMT
- Clarification deadline
- 15 Dec 2025, 16:00 GMT
- Submission channel
- Official e-sourcing portal
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
Timeline
26 Nov 2025 → 4 Mar 2026 · 8 dates- Tender notice published330 days ago26 Nov 2025, 17:53 GMT
- Clarification questions by311 days ago15 Dec 2025, 16:00 GMT
- Submission deadline304 days ago22 Dec 2025, 16:00 GMT
- Assessment summaries sent267 days ago28 Jan 2026
- Award decision expected by265 days ago29 Jan 2026, 23:59 GMT
- Standstill ends257 days ago6 Feb 2026, 23:59 GMT
- Contract starts248 days ago16 Feb 2026
- Latest notice published232 days ago4 Mar 2026, 13:37 GMT
Notice history
5 events · 3 releases on Find a Tender · since 26 Nov 2025- Tender notice published26 Nov 2025, 17:53 GMTUK4
- Contract award notice published28 Jan 2026, 11:05 GMTUK6
- Status changed to complete28 Jan 2026, 11:05 GMT
- Contract signature expected9 Feb 2026, 23:59 GMTscheduled
- Contract details notice published4 Mar 2026, 13:37 GMTUK7
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Andrea Adams Consultancy LimitedSMEContract for the Provision of External Investigator Service16 Feb 2026 – 15 Feb 2027 · up to 15 Feb 2031Extensions: The Contract shall be for an initial period of 1 year, with the option to extend the contract by up to a further 48 Months subject to satisfactory annual review · Options: The Contract shall be for an initial period of 1 year, with the option to extend the contract by up to a further 48 Months subject to satisfactory annual review | £320,000 | 27 Jan 2026 | Awarded |
Contracts
250285 Contract for the Provision of External Investigator Services · Andrea Adams Consultancy LimitedSME
- Signed
- 9 Feb 2026
- Value
- £320,000
- Period
- 16 Feb 2026 – 15 Feb 2027 · up to 15 Feb 2031 with extensions
- Status
- active
- Extensions
- The Contract shall be for an initial period of 1 year, with the option to extend the contract by up to a further 48 Months subject to satisfactory annual review
- Options
- The right to additional purchases while the contract is valid. The Contract shall be for an initial period of 1 year, with the option to extend the contract by up to a further 48 Months subject to satisfactory annual review
3 agreed KPIs: Investigation Completion · Turnaround · Quality
- Investigation Completion
- Turnaround
- Quality
Bid statistics published by the authority
| Bids | SME | VCSE | Valid bid range |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5final-stage tenders | 3 | 0 | — |
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Bidders & participating suppliers
1 commercial party on the notice- ANDREA ADAMS CONSULTANCY LIMITEDAwarded supplier
Official documents & specifications (4)
Official links; attachments are not copiedTender pack and attachments
- Bidding documents and specifications Tender documents are accessible from web address provided
Notices published for this procedure
- Contract details notice Contract details notice on Find a Tender
- Contract award notice Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender